


Clarke's Extraordinary Playlist

by WaitingForMyHogwartsLetter



Category: The 100 (TV), Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, F/M, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Music, Playlist, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist AU, Zoey's Playlist AU, can't you tell?, i don't really know what i'm doing, kind of like mindreading, minor clexa - Freeform, yes clarke can hear people's thoughts through song
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:40:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24187525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaitingForMyHogwartsLetter/pseuds/WaitingForMyHogwartsLetter
Summary: --The 100, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist AU--Clarke Griffin is sent to the ground with one hundred others to see if earth is survivable. She has enough on her plate without having to deal with the fact that she can now hear people's innermost thoughts in dramatic musical numbers after an incident with an MRI machine and a solar flare alert.
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, Clarke Griffin/Lexa (minor), Finn Collins/Raven Reyes, Octavia Blake/Lincoln
Comments: 13
Kudos: 26





	1. Woke In A Dream, Forgot I Was A Dreamer

**Author's Note:**

> this is basically gonna set the scene, contains scenes from flashbacks in the show, sort of explains where her powers come form.

> _— One year ago. —_

Clarke sat in her bedroom, drawing in a sketchbook Wells had managed to find her. She sketched her family, her mother and father standing behind a smiling Clarke, but she kept getting stuck on her own face and ultimately she decided to focus on her mother instead. The pencil was reassuring in her hand as she highlighted Abby’s soft waves and the two strands of hair at the front that she currently wore not pulled back, framing her mother’s face perfectly. 

It was late in the evening, and Clarke knew that if her parents realised she was awake and sketching in her room she’d probably get a stern telling off from her mother. She heard the front door open and close and muffled voices began to resonate from the living room. _Dad’s home_ , she thought. Being a doctor, Abby was adamant that Clarke have a regular sleeping schedule, but sometimes Clarke just couldn’t help it once inspiration struck. Jake was more relaxed on that front, he’d just wish her goodnight and leave the light on, pretending that she was already fast asleep when he left. 

The voices in the living room raised slightly, turning into harsh whispers and worry began to crease Clarke’s brows. Curiosity getting the better of her, she stood up and put her sketch down, tiptoeing over to the door and into the living room and pressing her back against the wall so that they wouldn’t see her. She wasn’t adverse to the idea of listening in on her parents’ argument— not that they argued often— but this time something felt off. 

“People need to know,” Jake pleaded quietly, keeping his voice low as not to startle Clarke, having no idea that was impossible at this point. 

“No,” Abby shot back sternly, “They’ll panic.” 

Jake sighed, “You sound like Kane.” 

“Because he’s right!” she protested. 

“No. We can’t avoid the truth, Abby! This isn’t a glitch, it’s a system failure. _People need to know._ ” Jake wrung his hands, something that Clarke also had a habit of doing when she was stressed and nowhere near any drawing supplies. 

“What, and risk anarchy? No. It’s too dangerous. Promise me that you’ll obey the council’s orders, that you’ll keep it quiet.” It was Abby’s turn to plead, “ _Promise_ me.” 

Jake began to pace, “I can’t do that. I can’t.” 

“For Clarke!” Abby hissed, “Do it for Clarke.” 

He looked at her, crestfallen. “I _am_ doing this for Clarke.” 

“They’ll float you, Jake. If you do this, I won’t be able to stop it…” Abby trailed off. 

Clarke felt the lump in her throat, covering her mouth to hide any reaction that might give her position away, she crept back to her room and turned the light out. As she rested her sketchbook on the bedside table, Clarke resolved to figure this out tomorrow. To do that, she’d need the most rational person she knew— _Wells._

~

The next day, Clarke was already scheduled to play chess with Wells so she wasted no time in grabbing a quick breakfast and meeting him straight there. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t decide whether or not it was a good idea to tell him. His dad was the _Chancellor_ , for Christ's sake. She loved Wells, but what if someone found out he knew and sent him to lockup? She couldn’t be the reason he gets floated, she just couldn’t. 

His voice snapped her out of her thoughts as her best friend tapped her on the wrist. “Earth to Clarke? You’re up.” 

“Sorry,” she sighed, moving a piece without completely thinking it through. 

“Well, if your strategy is to lose really fast, that was a great move. What’s going on?” Wells rubbed his thumb along the inside of her wrist to calm her down, the duration of their friendship had proven that it would always work. 

“Nothing, I’m fine,” Clarke sighed, still trying to decide if she wanted to risk Wells’ safety by involving him. 

He leant forwards, his gaze softening, “You know you can talk to me.” 

“My dad found a problem with the oxygen system,” she revealed, her voice quiet. “I’m not supposed to know.” 

“They’ve had other malfunctions. They always figure out a way to deal with it,” Wells said in an attempt to reassure her. Unfortunately, it only put his best friend more on edge. 

“No…” Clarke shook her head, leaning closer to him and lowering her voice even more, paranoid that someone, _somewhere_ could be listening. “This one might not be fixable. The council doesn’t want anyone to know.” 

“The council meaning my dad?”

She nodded, “Yeah. And my mom and others. I think he’s gonna go public anyway.” 

“Clarke, he can’t. He’ll get floated,” Wells hissed worriedly. 

“I know. But what if he’s right? Don’t people deserve to know the truth? You can’t tell your dad I told you. You can’t tell anyone.” Clarke whispered as she wiped the sweat from her forehead with her other hand, the one that Wells wasn’t trying to use to calm her down. 

He smiled at her reassuringly, “Your secret is safe with me, I promise.” 

~

When Clarke got home, her dad was in the living room and her mom was at work. Jake sat at his desk, finishing the message he was recording. “In this time of uncertainty, we will come together as a people. I’m telling you this because you must know the truth and because I want a future for my child and yours. Be strong.”

She stepped out from where she had been hiding. “You’re going to disobey the council?” Jake froze, reaching behind him to turn off the camera and hide it, attempting to hide the truth but Clarke saw right through him. “Dad, I know. I heard you and mom.” 

“Okay, you know. I’ve been thinking about this a long time. The people have a right to know. Your mother doesn’t understand,” he tried to explain. 

Clarke folded her arms, “What’s the plan?”

“You don’t need to know the plan,” he replied calmly, trying to cover up the fact that he was very worried over what his daughter would do. 

She rolled her eyes at him. “You’re making a video, so, what? You’re gonna break into the communications mainframe? Making you either suicidal or incredibly dumb.”

“Wow. You are picking a fine moment to start behaving like a typical teenager,” her father sighed.

“I’m gonna help you,” she decided. Once Clarke has decided to do something, few can talk her out of it. 

Jake stood up, walking over to her. “No. No, Clarke, you’re not.”

“But I can…” she pleaded as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and holding her tightly. 

He tried to comfort her, kissing her cheek gently. “Absolutely not. No. No, baby. You get that stubborn streak from your mother, you know. One of many things I love about both of you.” Jake rested his head on top of Clarke’s as she nestled under his chin and closed her eyes, breathing deeply the scent of home. 

Without warning, the door burst open and the calm scene inside was cast out as guards stormed in, pulling the two apart. “Jake Griffin, you’re under arrest for treason.”

“Dad? Dad?” Clarke tried to fight, but they pulled her away and held her there until her dad was out of the room. _No… no… no… this couldn’t be happening, this couldn’t be happening._ She had only told… she had only told Wells? 

_No._

_He wouldn’t._

_He couldn’t._

Clarke felt as if the walls were closing in as she gasped for breath, trying to figure out where she had gone wrong. She backed into the nearest hard surface, flattening herself against it and wringing her hands together. _This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be happening._ The world began to spin and she squeezed her eyes tight, wishing that it was a dream and she’d be able to wake up and her dad would be fine and everything would be normal and… and… 

Next to her, the door burst open again, but this time it was Abby and she rushed to her daughter as she collapsed, giving in to the darkness as it enveloped her without a second thought. 

~

Clarke woke up in a bed in medical, trying to remember what had happened. She looked around the stark white surfaces before the memories came flooding back, barely giving her enough time before she leant over the side of the bed and emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor. 

Abby rushed in, wiping her forehead with a cold towel and quietly trying to calm her. “I was so worried, it could have just been the shock of what happened but Jackson and I had to be sure, so we gave you an MRI and then the solar flare warning and just…” she ran out of breath, checking that her daughter was fully functioning before sighing in relief. 

“There was a solar flare?” Clarke asked, trying to get her bearings. She was in medical, but she was in a private room and that barely ever happened. And then her eyes trailed down to her wrists, one of which was cuffed to the bed. “Mom?” 

“You were in the MRI machine at the time, and medical is so well protected but everyone was so worried that it could have affected you somehow, luckily everything turned out okay,” Abby checked her vitals again for the second time within five minutes and Clarke pulled on the cuffs, trying to get her left wrist free. 

Her eyes filled with panic, “Where’s Dad? Has he been floated? Please tell me he hasn’t been floated yet, I need to be there. I need to say goodbye.” 

“You might not have time to see him, it’s happening later today. I managed to get Kane to push it back to give you more time to recover. They’re… they’re putting you in the Skybox. Clarke, honey, they’re afraid you might tell people,” Abby looked around cautiously. 

Clarke set her lips in a thin line, “So what if I do? People need to know.” 

Abby sighed, “I’ll get Sergeant Miller to unlock you so that you can get changed, but then I have to go.” 

~

Abby was already saying goodbye to Jake when the guards brought Clarke in, and she ran towards her father and threw her arms around his neck, sobbing. He seemed surprised to see her, trying to fight the tears welling in his own eyes as he hugged her back. “Clarke, you shouldn’t be here, honey. You don’t want to see this. It’s okay.” He unclasped her hands from around his neck and put his watch in one, before closing the other on top of it. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Here. Keep that for me.”

“Jake, it’s time,” Jaha announced as he stood at the side. 

“I love you, kid,” Jake whispered to her as he was led into the airlock. 

“I love you,” she sobbed back, clutching Abby for dear life. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.” 

_This is all Wells’ fault._

~

> _— Present day —_

Clarke sat on the floor of her cell in solitary, drawing on it using a piece of chalk someone managed to sneak in for her. Her room was filled with sketches, some on the floor, some on the walls, even one or two on the ceiling above the bed, but only where she could reach and even then it involved standing on her tiptoes and some _serious_ balancing. 

Interrupting her tranquillity, two guards burst into her cell. “Prisoner 319, face the wall.” 

She scrambled to her feet, panic beginning to set in. “What is this?”

“Quiet,” the guard replied nonchalantly, “Hold out your right arm.” 

“No… no… it’s not my time, it’s not my time—” Clarke tried to protest— “I don’t turn eighteen for another month!”

“Hold out your arm,” the guard walked towards her with what appeared to be a permanent-sealing silver electronic wristband. “Take off your watch,” the guard ordered.

Clarke clasped a hand over the watch protectively, standing defiantly against the guard. “No. It was my father’s.” 

One guard grabbed her wrist and the other brought out his baton, but Clarke’s adrenaline was coursing and she ran at the first one, pushing him away before rushing out the open door and clinging onto the railing in shock. 

Everyone in the Skybox was being moved. _They were being floated, they had to be_ , she thought. _To provide extra air for everyone left._ Her eyes flitted between teenagers, finally resting on a boy with goggles being hauled along by a guard on a floor diagonally below. Music began to fill her ears and Clarke was frozen in place, confused. _Where the hell was that coming from?_

The boy with goggles slowed down, looking up to the ceiling and sighing, before he began to sing. _“I’m waking up to ash and dust, I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust. I’m breathing in the chemicals.”_

Another boy further down took over, and the scene became more and more bizarre to Clarke as she wondered if she was dreaming or not. _“I’m breaking, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus. This is it, the apocalypse. Woah…”_

Three girls on her floor continued it on, and Clarke couldn’t help but stare as they sang together, being led along by guards. _“I’m waking up, I feel it in my bones, enough to make my systems blow. Welcome to the new age, to the new age.”_

_I’m radioactive, radioactive._

_I’m radioactive, radioactive._

Clarke watched in shock as the rest of the delinquents began singing in perfect harmony. Yep, this was definitely a dream. No denying it, if she pinched herself she’d just wake up and this would be another day on the Skybox, nothing out of the ordinary. She pinched herself and winced. But the music continued. 

_I raise my flags, don my clothes, it’s a revolution I suppose._

_We’re painted red to fit right in, woah._

_I’m breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus._

_This is it, the apocalypse._

_I’m waking up_

_I feel it in my bones_

_Enough to make my systems blow_

_Welcome to the new age, to the new age_

_Welcome to the new age_

_To the new age_

The music faded out and everything returned to normal, shouts echoing through the large prison station as some people were reluctant to be taken anywhere, probably presuming the same thing Clarke did, that they were all going to be floated. The guards chose that moment to burst out of her cell, shouting her lockup ID number as she looked for a place to run. 

“Clarke, stop!” Abby called.

“Mom? Mom, what’s going on? What is this?” Clarke hugged her mother tightly, terrified of what she was about to say. “They’re killing us all, aren’t they? Reducing population to make more time for the rest of you?”

Abby grabbed her shoulders, shaking everything into focus. “Clarke, you are not being executed. Okay? You’re being sent to the ground. All one hundred of you.”

“What?” Clarke tried to take a step back, shocked, but her mother’s hands were firmly on her shoulders still. “But it’s not safe! No. No… We get reviewed at eighteen.” 

“Shhh….” Abby tried to calm her down, brushing a piece of hair out of her daughter’s face. “The rules have changed. This gives you a chance to live! Your instincts will tell you to take care of everybody else first, just like your father. But be careful, I can’t lose you too. I love you so much,” she held Clarke as one of the guards shot a tranquillizer into her back, catching her as she fell limp. 

By the time Clarke woke up, she would be on the dropship with ninety-nine others. Well, one hundred, but she doesn’t know _that_ yet.


	2. We Come Running

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke tries to figure out why people have broken into song for the SECOND time in two days. Is it the radiation? Is she going crazy? Who knows? For now, it has to take a back seat since getting to mount weather is their top priority. 
> 
> If only she was closer to someone that she could tell about this. 
> 
> If only Wells was still her friend.

Clarke came to in an unfamiliar room, strapped to a seat. She looked around, slowly realising where her and the other delinquents were.  _ A dropship. _ It all came rushing back.  _ Earth, they were going to earth. _ She sat herself more upright, rubbing her arm where the prongs of the silver wristband had dug into her skin. 

“Welcome back,” a familiar voice whispered next to her. Wells seemed grateful that she was awake, but seeing  _ him _ made her wish she wasn’t. A year ago, Wells got her father killed and that’s definitely not something she was planning on forgiving him for any time soon. “Look—” he began, but she cut him off almost immediately. 

“Wells, why the hell are you here?” she snapped. 

He raised his hand, showing her the wristband that was secured around it. “When I heard that they were sending the prisoners to the ground, I got myself arrested. I came for you—” this time he wasn’t cut off by Clarke, but by a crash the entire ship shook, causing people to scream in panic. 

“What was that?” Clarke whispered, looking around and tightening her grip on either side of her seat. 

“That was the atmosphere,” Wells explained. 

Chancellor Jaha chose that moment to flicker into view on the screens surrounding the ship, his voice echoing out and causing cries of unrest. Nobody liked him that much, and since her dad died, Clarke could understand exactly why. 

“Prisoners of the Ark,” Jaha got their attention. “Hear me now, you’ve been given a second chance. And as your Chancellor, it is my hope that you see this as not just a chance for you, but a chance for all of us. Indeed, for mankind itself. We have no idea what is waiting for you down there, and if the odds of survival were better, we would’ve sent others. Frankly, we’re sending you because your crimes have made you expendable.”

Someone interrupted him, “Your dad’s a dick, Wells!” 

Jaha continued, his recording unperturbed by the disturbance. “Those crimes will be forgiven, your records wiped clean. The drop site has been chosen carefully. Before the last war, Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain. It was to be stocked with enough non-perishables to sustain three hundred people for up to two years…”

Clarke began to tune him out as another of the prisoners released his seatbelt and began to float about in the zero gravity. He came to a stop, horizontal, in front of Clarke and Wells. “Check it out,” he looked at Wells. “Looks like your dad floated me, after all.” 

“You should strap in before the parachutes deploy,” Wells advised him. 

Clarke looked around and saw two other boys about to release their seatbelts and join him. She called over to them, worried. “Hey, you two, stay put if you want to live,” she warned before turning her attention back to Jaha. 

“Mount Weather is life. If you want to survive you must locate those supplies immediately,” he informed them. 

“Hey,” the boy continued to lay sideways in front of them. His arms were folded and he had a mischievous grin on his face, one that Clarke thought might get him killed. “You’re the traitor that’s been in solitary for a year.” 

She rolled her eyes. “And you’re the idiot who wasted a month of oxygen on an illegal spacewalk,” Clarke shot back. 

“But it was fun,” he replied pointedly. “I’m Finn.” 

The other boys from before took no notice of her warning and one of them released his restraints, floating upwards. “Stay in your seats!” Clarke pleaded as the parachutes deployed, throwing Finn forwards on top of her and Wells and sending the two boys who tried to follow in his spacewalking footsteps straight into the wall, knocking them unconscious. “Finn, are you okay?” Clarke asked worriedly, holding onto the chair for security. 

“Retro-rockets ought to have fired by now,” Wells announced. 

“Okay, everything on this ship is a hundred years old, right? Just give it a second,” Clarke tried to calm herself and Wells down. 

Wells turned to her as smoke filled the room— not a good sign— “Clarke, there’s something I have to tell you. I’m sorry I got your father arrested.”

“Don’t you talk about my father!” She shot him a glare. 

“Please, I can’t die knowing that you hate me,” he pleaded. 

Clarke shouted back, “They didn’t arrest my father, Wells. They executed him! I do hate you!” 

The rockets chose that moment to kick in and there were numerous crashes and screams as the engines died down. Clarke looked around, using her eyes to check over the other passengers and resting them finally on the two boys who tried to get out of their seats. They were either unconscious or dead, and Clarke had a feeling it was the latter. 

“Listen,” a boy on the other side of the level whispered, “No machine hum.” 

“Whoa, that’s a first,” the boy with goggles that Clarke recognised from lockup replied. Seeing him reminded her of what she had witnessed earlier and she frowned. Was that a dream? Did that happen while she was unconscious? Because there is no way that it  _ actually _ happened. That would be impossible, and weird, and…  _ crazy. _

Clarke was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of buckles unclipping and she did the same, leaping to her feet and rushing towards the two unconscious boys, one of which was being looked over by Finn. “Finn, is he breathing?” she asked quickly, but he solemnly looked up and shook his head, his curls falling into his face as he did. She checked over the boy at her feet. He was dead too, just like she suspected. 

“The door is on the lower levels, let’s go!” Someone called out. 

“No!” Clarke shot to her feet, “We can’t just open the doors.” She climbed down the ladder and pushed through the crowd, noticing as a guy in a guards uniform stood in front of the door, telling everyone to back it up. “Stop!” she warned. “The air could be toxic.” 

He gave her an unimpressed look, “If the air is toxic then we’re all dead anyway.” The guy looked as if he was about to say something else, but he was cut off as a girl appeared on the ladder and climbed down, running towards him. 

“Bellamy?” she asked. 

He took her in, resting his hands on her shoulders before pulling her into a hug, “My God, look how big you are.” 

“What the hell are you wearing?” she frowned, “A guard’s uniform?”

“I borrowed it to get on the dropship,” he shrugged. “Someone’s got to keep an eye on you.” The guy— Bellamy— laughed as the girl hugged him again, but Clarke was preoccupied with something else. 

“Where’s your wristband?” She asked, puzzled. 

The girl turned around and shot her a look, “Do you mind? I haven’t seen my brother in a year.” She turned back to him, smiling. 

“No one has a brother,” someone in the group protested. 

It was followed by a gasp, “That’s Octavia Blake! The girl they found hidden in the floor.”

Octavia’s eyes darkened and she made a move to rush towards the offending chatterbox but it was caught by her brother, who held her back and pulled her back to his side. “Octavia, Octavia, no. Let’s give them something else to remember you by.” 

“Yeah? Like what,” she pulled her arm back out of his grasp and smoothed down her jacket.

Bellamy flashed her a grin, “Like being the first person on the ground in a hundred years.” He turned around and pulled on the lever and the door slowly opened to reveal the glorious outside. 

Clarke wanted to protest but she was distracted by the beauty of it as Octavia stepped forwards, taking it all in before jumping onto the ground, giving it a moment before screaming. “WE’RE BACK, BITCHES!”

Her reaction caused everyone to cry out in joy and they rushed past her, desperate to see what it would feel like to be outside… to be on  _ Earth. _ Clarke could barely believe it as she jumped down onto the grass, feeling it soft under her feet as she breathed in the air— not recycled air—  _ real fresh air. _ A grin began to spread across her lips as she couldn’t control her excitement, much longer. 

Immediately she was distracted, as music began to fill her ears again for the second time. Clarke looked around, trying to find the source. Her eyes rested on Octavia Blake, the girl who had been the first on the ground, as she spun around with joy and began to sing. 

_ Well, _ Clarke thought.  _ That was one way to celebrate. _

Octavia grinned,  _ “I’ve been stuck in motion, moving too fast. Trying to catch a moment, but it slips through my hands.” _

Finn joined in, and once again Clarke found herself wondering if this was real or not. It couldn’t  _ possibly  _ be real... When on earth would anyone have had the time to prepare two musical numbers? It’s not like they wouldn’t have had time in lockup since they weren’t in solitary like her… but no one had  _ that _ much of a vast choreographical knowledge to prepare two large flash mobs. It was impossible, right? She was drawn to them as they sang, unable to tear her eyes away. 

_ All I see are long days, and dark nights.  _

_ I’m lost without you but I’m on my way, so hold tight. _

_ I’m coming home tonight,  _

_ Meet me in the valley _

_ Where the kids collide, into the morning _

_ Oh my God, my town is coming alive _

_ I’m coming home tonight _

_ I know you’re ready _

_ For the stars to fly into the morning _

_ Oh my god, my town is coming alive.  _

Finn broke the formation as Clarke realised everyone else had joined in, taking her hand and leading her into the middle. 

_ ‘Cause I’m coming home tonight, night _

_ Yes, I’m coming home tonight, night _

_ Don’t wanna spend my whole life _

_ Catching my breath _

_ ‘Cause I’ve been running round and round and round _

_ And I got nothing left _

_ There’s nothing like a sunset skyline _

_ To let you know you’re almost home _

_ So breathe in and hold tight _

_ I’m coming home tonight _

The kids continued to dance even once the music faded out, but Clarke blinked and when she opened her eyes it was as if no time had passed at all.  _ Weird.  _ Maybe it was the radiation? Maybe it was making her brain go all wrong or something? 

Now was  _ not _ the time to be hallucinating large flash mobs. She had work to do. Clarke walked out until a clearing, pulling out the map that they had been provided with and looking at it carefully, comparing it to the view of mountains far away. 

Finn appeared, leaning over her shoulder. “Why so serious, Princess? It’s not like we died in a fiery explosion.” He sent a cheeky grin in her direction, but she was too focused on the map to notice.

“Try telling that to the two guys who tried to follow you out of their seats,” she deadpanned. 

“You don’t like being called Princess, do you Princess,” Finn grinned.

Clarke rolled her eyes, telling herself to stay calm before looking at the mountains again. “Do you see that peak over there?” 

“Yeah.”

“Mount Weather,” she sighed. “There’s a radiation-soaked forest between us and our next meal.” Finn’s eyebrows shot up in response to this, but he said nothing. “They dropped us on the wrong damn mountain,” Clarke cursed. 

“That is a bummer,” Finn nodded.

Changing the subject momentarily, Clarke looked at him out of the corner of her eye, “Have you ever taken part in a flash mob, Finn?”

Finn narrowed his eyes at her, “No? Why the ask?”

“No reason,” she brushed it off, changing the subject back. “We have to go to Mount Weather. Jaha said it’s our only chance of survival.”

He shrugged, “Then let's go to Mount Weather. How hard can it be?” 

They walked back to the dropship and Finn decided to go exploring, leaving Clarke to rest the map against the dropship door and try and plot a route. Unfortunately, the person she least wanted to talk to appeared behind her, and she was forced to respond. 

“We have a problem,” Wells announced. “The communications system is dead. I went to the roof, a dozen panels are missing. Heat fried the wires.” 

Clarke sighed, “Well, all that matters right now is getting to Mount Weather. See? Look. This is us,” she pointed to a spot on the map, using the map tools to plot a route. “This is where we need to be to survive.”

Wells nodded, “Where’d you learn to do that?” He took her awkward silence as a hint and backtracked slightly, answering his own question. “Your father.” 

The kid with the goggles wandered over, leaning over Clarke’s shoulder and looking at the map. “Cool, a map. They got a bar in this town? I’ll buy you a beer,” he joked. 

“Do you mind?” Wells moved him away and Clarke rolled her eyes at his overprotectiveness. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” a boy with slicked-back hair and an air of arrogance appeared with a small horde of other kids behind him carrying sticks. “Hands off him, he’s with us.” 

“Relax,” Wells explained, pointing to the map. “We’re just trying to figure out where we are.” 

From the other side of the clearing, Bellamy scoffed loudly. “We’re on the ground. That not good enough for you?” 

“We need to find Mount Weather,” Wells began to walk towards him. With a sigh, Clarke put the map down and followed. “You heard my father’s message, that has to be our first priority.” 

Octavia rolled her eyes, standing next to her brother. “Screw your father. What, you think you’re in charge here, you and your little princess?”

Clarke immediately took offence, groaning at how impractical they were being. “Do you think we care who’s in charge? We need to get to Mount Weather, not because the Chancellor said so, but because the longer we wait, the hungrier we’ll get and the harder this’ll be. How long do you think we’ll last without those supplies? We’re looking at a twenty-mile trek, okay? So if we want to get there before dark, we need to leave. Now.” 

“I’ve got a better idea,” Bellamy interrupted. “You two go, find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change.” 

“You’re not listening. We all need to go!” Wells protested. 

The other kid from before, the arrogant-looking one, stepped forwards and gave Wells a shove. “Look at this, everybody… the  _ Chancellor _ of Earth.” 

“You think that’s funny?” Wells raised an eyebrow and Clarke rolled her eyes. Twenty minutes in and they already want to kill each other. Oh, the joys of working with teenage boys with too much testosterone. 

The kid charged at Wells, knocking his feet out from under him and sending him flat on his ass. “No, but that was,” she smirked, and Clarke immediately took a disliking to him. Wells got to his feet, limping but still ready for a fight and the other kid’s smile grew even more as he raised his own fists. “Alright. Come on, come on.”

Finn jumped down from above, and Clarke’s eyes looked for where he had come from, making her wonder how he got up there in the first place. He landed between the two boys, facing off against the more violent one. “Kid’s got one leg. How about you wait until it’s a fair fight.” 

Octavia waltzed over, a playful smile beginning to show. “Hey, Spacewalker. Rescue me next,” she flirted, making everyone laugh— apart from Clarke. She paid no attention to them and sat down next to Wells to examine his ankle. 

“So Mount Weather,” Finn walked over. “When do we leave?” 

Clarke stood up, “Right now. We’ll be back tomorrow with food.” 

“How are the two of you gonna carry enough food for a hundred?” Wells asked dryly.

Finn turned around, grabbing two other kids by the shoulders— who happened to be the kid with the goggles and his friend— and brought them over. “Four of us,” he declared. “Can we go now?” 

“Sounds like a party,” Octavia skipped over. “Make it five.” 

“Hey, what the hell are you doing?” Bellamy reached for her. 

She rolled her eyes, “Going for a walk.” 

Clarke’s eyes strayed down and she caught herself staring at Finn’s bracelet, which was covered in scratch marks. “Hey, were you trying to take this off?” She marched towards him and took the offending wrist in her hands to inspect it. 

“Yeah,” he answered. “So?”

“So this wristband transmits your vital signs to the Ark. Take it off, and they’ll think you’re dead,” she explained. 

Finn raised an eyebrow, “Should I care?”

“That depends,” Clarke looked at him expectantly, “Do you want the people you love to think you’re dead? Do you want them to follow you down here in two months? Because they won’t if they think we’re dying.” Finn’s face lost any trace of humour and his eyes looked down at his feet. “Ok. Now let’s go.” 

Their small group began to leave and before she caught up to them, Clarke turned back to her old best friend. “You shouldn’t have come here, Wells,” she warned him before following them and walking after Octavia. 

They began to wade through the tall plants, the two girls walking side by side. “Before you get any ideas,” the younger Blake sibling leant close to her, “Finn is mine.” 

Clarke’s words oozed with sarcasm, “Before you get any ideas, I don’t care.” 

She took the lead, marching ahead and every so often checking the map to make sure they were on the right track. Behind her, she ignored the conversations of the others and tried to make sense of her thoughts. That must have been a hallucination, right? That can’t have really happened. This isn’t frickin’ High School Musical, people don’t just  _ burst into song. _ It’s unnatural, it’s unnerving, and it’s pretty damn freaky. 

Distracted by trying to make sense of everything, Clarke turned around to find the others had fallen behind. 

“The flowers aren’t poisonous,” the friend of the kid with goggles— Monty, his name was— explained. “They’re medicinal, calming, actually.” 

The kid with the goggles— Jasper, Clarke now knew him as— explained how Monty knew his explanation. “His family grows all the pharmaceuticals on the Ark.” 

“Hey, guys, would you try to keep up?” Clarke called impatiently, waiting for them to get closer before she could continue walking. 

Finn sighed, gesturing to the surrounding area, “Come on, Clarke. How do you block all this out?” 

“Well, it’s simple,” she began. “I wonder, ‘why haven’t we seen any animals?’ maybe it’s because there are none. Maybe, it’s because we’ve already been exposed to enough radiation to kill us. Sure is pretty, though. Come on,” she urged, turning around and picking up the pace.  _ Yeah, that and the fact that I’m currently trying to figure out why I keep seeing people burst into song around me, _ she thought to herself.  _ But no one else needs to know that. _

“Someone should slip her some poison sumac,” Octavia whispered jokingly, causing Jasper to snort. 

Clarke had a strong urge to tell the girl that she could still hear what she was saying, but she repressed it for the sake of not sounding like an easily-irritated school teacher. 

“I got to know what you two did to get busted,” Finn asked behind her. 

“Sumac’s not the only herb in the garden, if you know what I mean,” Monty divulged. 

“Someone forgot to replace what we took,” Jasper made a point of turning his head dramatically in the direction of his friend, who sighed. 

Monty looked at him, “Someone has apologised like a thousand times.” 

“How about you, Octavia?” Jasper asked curiously, and Clarke was surprised he didn’t already know. Who hadn’t heard of Octavia, the girl under the floor? “What’d they get you for?”

“Being born,” she deadpanned, jogging on ahead and crouching down behind Clarke. 

Clarke had stopped walking, getting into a squatting position to not startle the lanky animal in front of her, pointing at the deer as her new friends crowded around her to watch it in awe. Finn raised his eyebrows suggestively, “No animals, huh?” He took a step towards it, wanting to get closer, but he stepped on a branch and the deer’s head jerked around to look at them. 

Well, “head” was an inaccurate description, since the plural would be more relevant. The deer seemed to have two heads, one of which the other ear was attached to, with two extra eyes and another mouth. Octavia jumped and the deer bounded off, escaping from the sights of the intruders. 

Clarke couldn’t help but stare at the space where the deer had been. 

Musical numbers were the least of her problems if the animals here had two heads.

~

They descended the hill and Clarke realised somehow that the others had overtaken her. She was trying to be careful not to fall and injure herself, but the others didn’t seem to worry about that as they jogged along below her. Finn broke the ambient noise of the forest with a question. 

“You know what I’d like to know? Why send us down today after ninety-seven years? What changed?” 

Octavia laughed, “Who cares? I’m glad they did. I woke up rotting in a cell, and now I’m spinning in a forest,” she trailed off, spinning around the thin tree trunk as an example as she flirted with Finn— without any luck. 

“Maybe they found something on a satellite?” Monty suggested, “You know, like an old weather satellite or—” 

He was cut off by Clarke, “It wasn’t a satellite. The Ark is dying.” Clarke used their shock, causing them to stop and stare at her, to her advantage as she took the lead again. “At the current population level, there’s roughly three months left of life support. Maybe four now that  _ we’re _ gone.” 

Finn regained composure the quickest and jogged after her, trying to keep pace. “So that was the secret they locked you up to keep? Why they kept you in solitary? Floated your old man?” 

She nodded. “My father was the engineer who discovered the flaw. He thought people had a right to know. The council disagreed, my mother disagreed. They were afraid it would cause a panic. We were going to go public anyway when Wells…” Clarke trailed off. 

“What?” Monty asked, surprised, “Turned in your dad?” 

“Anyway,” she ignored the question, “The Guard showed up before we could. That’s why today. That’s why it was worth the risk. Even if we die… they’ve bought themselves some more time.”

Monty paused, “They’re gonna kill more people, aren’t they?” 

“Good,” Octavia jumped down from the higher path she’d been walking on alongside them. “After what they did to me, I say float ‘em all.” She walked on ahead, leaving the others raising their eyebrows at her harsh but understandable words.

Jasper jogged after her, “You don’t mean that.” 

Finn touched Clarke’s arm gently, “We have to warn them.” 

Her face softened, “That’s what my father said.” She backed away from him, turning around to continue on the path but she bumped into Jasper before she had completed the 180. 

“Oh, damn.” He grinned, watching the clearing. ‘I love Earth.” The clearing, in particular, that he was watching contained Octavia as she stripped down into her underwear, leaving on only her bra, knickers and loose tank top before stepping gingerly towards the water. “Whoa,” he breathed quietly as she looked back and smiled at them. 

Clarke’s eyes widened as Octavia took a few steps closer to the rocky edge, “Octavia, what the hell are you doing?” 

Her first thought was  _ “I have to make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid” _ and it was quickly followed by  _ “her brother Bellamy will kill me if she does.” _

Octavia shot them all a cheeky smile before jumping into the water. The others ran to the clearing, pleasantly surprised at how clear the water was. Monty called from slightly further away, hesitant to get any closer, “Octavia, we can’t swim!” 

“I know,” she raised her head with a mischievous grin to reveal that the water only came up to just below her bra. “But we can stand,” she laughed. 

Clarke’s enthusiasm was short-lived as she realised something, “There’s not supposed to be a river here…” she realised.

“Well, there is,” Finn replied with a grin, “So take off your damn clothes.” 

Jasper took off his jacket and was in the process of balancing on one leg to get his shoe off when he spotted something further away, his eyes widening in shock as he warned her, “Octavia, get out of the water. Get out of the water now!” He shouted as whatever was in the depths hurtled towards her at an alarming speed and grabbed her by the leg, pulling her under the water. “Octavia!” It dragged her under and everything went quiet as they watched in horror, before it resurfaced a few seconds later and Octavia kicked and screamed in an attempt to break free. 

Finn shed his jacket, moving towards the edge as Monty watched the scene unfold, “What the hell is that?” He asked worriedly. 

“We have to help her!” Jasper shouted. “What the hell do we do?” 

Finn took a step towards the water, ready to dive in, “Try not to get eaten.” 

“No!” Clarke put her arm out to stop him, “If we distract it, it might let her go. Help me.” She grabbed some of the rocks at the water’s edge and began to roll them off the makeshift jetty and into the water. The creature swam towards where the disturbance had come from and left Octavia trying to tread water while blood leaked from a wound on her leg. 

“Octavia! Get to the shore now!” Jasper shouted, jumping in to pull her up. “I got you!” 

“It’s coming back!” Monty shouted, “It’s heading right for you guys!” 

The others got as close as they could to the edge of the water to help pull them out. Using her mother’s medical knowledge, Clarke realised that she needed to stop Octavia’s bleeding and cover the wound. She tore a strip of fabric from Jasper’s t-shirt and tied it around her leg. “You’re going to be okay,” she reassured her. 

Octavia pulled Jasper into a wet hug, “Thank you, thank you.” 

Monty watched them and smiled in relief, “Note to self: Next time, save the girl.” He clapped his best friend on the back and they relaxed. 

Even though it seemed as if Earth was trying to kill them. 

~

By the time darkness fell, they had found a safe-ish place to spend the night. Clarke was restless and she woke up, but she didn’t regret it. During the night, the fungi glowed brightly on the trees and created a beautiful almost fantasy-like setting. She stood up and walked towards one of the plants, mystified by its beauty. 

Treading lightly, Finn appeared without making any noise but Clarke didn’t jump. “Pretty cool, huh?” He offered her a large leaf with water that he had collected in the centre. 

She gasped, “Did you go to the river?”

Finn shrugged, “Figured it was worth losing a finger or two. Here.” He handed her the leaf and she took a small sip of water, smiling at how fresh it seemed. He raised an eyebrow, “You call that a sip?” Clarke smiled shyly and raised the leaf to her lips again to have a bit more. “You think this means we’re all gonna grow two heads?” 

Clarke laughed, turning away from him and focusing on the plants around them to hide the steady scarlet blush threatening her cheeks. 

“What do you know?” He smiled, nudging her, “She can laugh. Come on, you have to see this.” He walked off and she followed him as he knelt down on the ground and pointed to what appeared to be a footprint. “That’s a toe,” Finn explained. “Plus, near as I can tell, whatever it is… it’s walking on two feet. My guess— Monkeys.” He looked dead serious but Clarke did nothing to hide the laugh that built up inside her throat. 

“I’m sorry,” she hid the rest of her laughter, “It’s just, according to everything I’ve read, there were no bipedal animals anywhere near here. Certainly not monkeys.”

“Right,” he nodded understandingly, but the grin never left his face. “You read anything about glow-in-the-dark forests, or man-eating snakes?” 

~

The next morning, they stood at the edge of the river with the long and strong vine that was their only hope of getting across. Finn tugged on it, his confidence unwavering as he tested its strength for the fourth time. 

“You wanted to go first, now quit stalling,” Clarke laughed. “Mount Weather awaits.  _ Today, _ Finn.”

“Aye aye, Captain. See you on the other side,” he gave her a mock-salute and she rolled her eyes, but before he went, Jasper made his own decision. 

“Wait!”

“What?” Finn raised an eyebrow. 

“Let me,” Jasper grabbed the rope, sparing a glance towards Octavia who he was clearly trying to impress.

Finn nodded in approval and gave it to him, clapping him on the back, “I knew there was a badass in you somewhere.” Jasper pulled on the rope and took a deep breath. “Hey, it’s okay to be afraid, Jasper. The trick is not fighting it,” Finn advised as Jasper gripped the vine tighter and grinned. 

“See you on the other side,” he winked, jumping and swinging across the river. Once he got just passed the middle, he let go and crashed to the ground on the other bank, just hitting what appeared to be a makeshift jetty. Finn grabbed the vine as it swung back and the others got closer to the edge to make sure he was okay. 

Jasper scrambled to his feet with no visible injuries and began to cheer, erupting a cheer from the rest of the small group at his success. Jasper jumped and danced about as the others laughed. 

“Let’s go, Princess,” Finn handed Clarke the vine. “You’re up.” 

“Come on, Clarke! You got this!” Jasper shouted, sifting through the branches on the forest floor to reveal a metal sign that he picked up. “We did it!” He cheered. “Mount Weather!”

The sign read ‘Mount Weather. Government Property. Keep Out” and it was pretty clear about that, but we were just too happy to care about what the old rules would have been. Clarke grabbed the rope ready to cross when out of nowhere a spear struck Jasper in the chest. 

It threw him backwards against the rock and his eyes went wide as he looked down at it, blood trickling out of the wound. “J— Jasper!” Clarke called, horrified. 

“Jasper!” Monty screamed. 

Clarke called his name again but Finn grabbed her, pulling her backwards and into the cover of the trees. “Come on!” He hissed, “Get down.” 

“We’re not alone…” Clarke realised. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title from "We Come Running" by Youngblood Hawke.
> 
> Songs included: "Coming Home" by Sheppard.
> 
> If you have any song suggestions, please drop them in the comments! :)


	3. Demons

They crashed through the undergrowth, not even bothering to be careful or hide their tracks as they raced back to the camp. Clarke hesitated, looking back at where they had left Jasper, but Finn grabbed her arm and dragged her after him, forcing her to continue. Monty and Octavia ran on ahead, jumping over fallen branches and trying not to trip over tree roots. 

But Monty did just that. 

He slipped and fell and Octavia turned around to help him up, “Monty, get up! We gotta go!” She paused as he stared at something that he’d almost landed on. Bones. Black remains of what seemingly looked like something’s rib cage. Finn hauled Monty to his feet before frowning at them. 

“Who are they?” He asked as Clarke bent down to examine them. 

“ _What_ are they?” Clarke held up one of the skulls and it certainly wasn’t human. 

Octavia held onto Monty, “We are _so_ screwed,” she whispered.

In the distance, a scream echoed through the woods, scaring birds out of trees and the group whipped around in shock. Clarke dropped the skull, looking towards the source of the noise. _Jasper wasn’t dead._ “Jasper, he’s alive.” She made to run back, dodging Finn as he tried to catch her, attempting to halt her before she had the chance. 

“Wait!” He managed to grab her in the end, pulling her down. “Stay under the trees.” Finn looked up, his eyes growing wide as all four of them looked at the place where Jasper had last been seen. All that was left in his place was the Mount Weather sign that he had dropped when the spear hit him. “He… he was right there.” 

“Where is he?” Monty almost stuck his head out from the bush he was hiding behind but Octavia pulled him back down harshly. 

Realisation struck Clarke as she put together what had happened, “They took him.”

~

When they got back to camp, it had descended into chaos. Every kid had crowded around two boys fighting and as they got closer Clarke was more than disappointed to realise one of the boys was Wells, and he seemed to be winning. Wells had the other kid— the arrogant looking one from before— in a headlock with a knife next to his throat. “Wells!” She shouted, “Let him go!” 

Clarke walked up to them and Wells threw the boy away from him, and when the kid tried to charge again Bellamy stepped in between them and caught him before he could do any damage. “Enough, Murphy,” he warned before turning around and realising his sister was limping. “Octavia! Are you alright?” 

“Yeah,” she winced as he put his arm around her to support her. 

Bellamy looked around, noticing that the small group had come back empty-handed. “Where’s the food?” 

“We didn’t make it to Mount Weather,” Finn told him. 

Bellamy cursed before turning to Clarke, “What the hell happened out there?” 

“We were attacked,” she explained, still catching her breath from the run back. 

“Attacked? By what?” Wells asked her worriedly. 

Finn sat down on a rock, exhausted, “Not what. Who. It turns out, when the last man from the Ground died on the Ark, he wasn’t the last Grounder.”

“It’s true,” Clarke confirmed. “Everything we thought we knew about the Ground is wrong. There are people here, survivors. The good news is that means we can survive, radiation won’t kill us.” 

“Bad news is the Grounders will,” Finn finished for her. 

Wells looked around, “Where’s the kid with the goggles?”

“Jasper was hit. They took him,” Clarke revealed, before her eyes travelled down to Wells’ wrist, where his wristband was notably absent. “Where’s your wristband?” 

He pulled his arm out of her reach before looking over to Bellamy in disgust, “Ask him.” 

“How many?” Clarke descended on Bellamy, her eyes like eyes. If looks could kill… Clarke found herself wishing that were true in this moment. 

Murphy joined the party, smirking, “Twenty-four and counting.” 

“You idiots,” she shook her head in disbelief. “Life support on the Ark is failing. That’s why they brought us down here. They need to know the ground is survivable again and we need their help against whoever is out there. If you take off your wristbands, you’re not just killing them. You’re killing _us._ ”

Bellamy tried to take back control of the situation. “We’re stronger than you think. Don’t listen to her. She’s one of the privileged. If they come down, she’ll have it good. How many of you can say the same? We can take care of ourselves. That wristband on your arm? It makes you a prisoner. We are prisoners anymore. They say they’ll forgive your crimes. I say, _you’re not criminals!_ You’re fighters, survivors. The Grounders should worry about us!” 

His speech caused a roar of approval from the other delinquents and Clarke shook her head in frustration. Marching towards the dropship. Monty caught up with her, walking alongside. “What do we do now?”

“Now we go after Jasper,” she replied decidedly. 

The first thing she needed was a pack, and Clarke fashioned one together using material in the dropship and some of the seatbelts. She packed more inside in case they’d need them and put the map in too. Wells appeared behind her and she wiped her eyes so that he wouldn’t see that she’d been crying over stress and worry about Jasper. 

“There you are,” he announced himself. “When my father said they didn’t leave us anything, he really meant it.” Wells walked over to Clarke as she tested out a flashlight, and its beam highlighted the bloody tear in his jacket where he had been slashed by Murphy’s knife during their fight. He sighed when she gave him a concerned look, “It’s just a scratch.” 

“You’re making friends fast,” she sighed. “Keep it covered. It could get infected.” Clarke noticed the bag he had made for himself. “Nice pack.” 

“Seatbelts and insulation. I also packed a part of the parachute, figured we could use it to carry out Jasper—” 

“Good,” she nodded. “Give it to someone else. You’re not coming with us.” 

“My ankle is fine,” he protested. 

Clarke began to climb down the ladder, “It’s not your ankle, Wells. It’s you.” 

“You came back for reinforcements, I’m gonna help.”

Monty agreed, appearing from where he had been waiting on the lower level. “Clarke, he’s right. We need him. So far, no one else has volunteered.” 

“I’m sorry, Monty, you’re not going either,” Clarke told him. 

Monty’s brow furrowed, “Like hell I’m not. Jasper’s my best friend.” 

“You’re too important,” she assured him. “You were raised on Farm Station and recruited by engineering. So, food and communication. What’s up here,” she tapped the side of his head lightly with a finger, “Is gonna save us all. You figure out how to talk to the Ark and I’ll bring Jasper back.” She turned around just as Finn came through the door, and she was happy to see him. “Hey, you ready?”

“I’m not going anywhere, and neither should any of you,” he said pointedly. “That spear was thrown with pinpoint accuracy from three hundred feet.”

“So what, we let Jasper die?” Monty recoiled like he’d been the one to be hit with the spear. 

Clarke looked at him and reassured him, “That’s not going to happen.” She turned back to Finn, disappointed. “Spacewalker? What a joke. You think you’re such an adventurer, but you’re really just a coward.” Clarke pushed past him out towards the campside as he called after her. 

“It’s not an adventure, Clarke. It’s a suicide mission.”

She shook her head, refusing to look back at him as she made a beeline for the one and only Bellamy Blake, who was trying to clean the wound on Octavia’s leg. “You could’ve been killed,” he warned his sister gently, just as Clarke arrived. 

“She would’ve been, if _Jasper_ hadn’t pulled her out,” Clarke told him. 

“You guys leaving? I’m coming too,” Octavia tried to stand up and winced. 

Bellamy stood up and rested a hand on her shoulder, “No. No way, not again.” 

“He’s right, your leg’s just gonna slow us down,” Clarke said apologetically before turning to the older Blake. “I’m here for you.” 

“Clarke, what are you doing?” Wells warned. 

She took no notice of her former best friend. “I hear you have a gun.” Bellamy looked at her for a moment before lifting up the edge of his t-shirt to reveal the handgun tucked down the back of his waistband. “Good. Follow me.” 

“And why would I do that?” 

“Because you want _them_ to follow _you._ And right now, they’re thinking only one of us is scared,” she began to walk away, knowing that after a moment or two that he would follow. 

Wells walked alongside her, trying to talk her out of it. “Those aren’t just bullies, Clarke. They’re dangerous criminals.” 

“I’m counting on it,” she smirked, looking back and smiling when she realised that Bellamy _was_ following her, and he’d brought his little friend John Murphy too. 

~

Rescuing Jasper wasn’t easy, but they managed to get out in one piece _and_ bring back a large scaly panther for dinner. If it wasn’t for Bellamy’s gun— although _how_ exactly it got into Wells’ hands Clarke wasn’t exactly sure— they’d be dinner for the cat, and if it wasn’t for Bellamy himself grabbing Clarke’s hand then she would’ve almost certainly been impaled on the spears in the trap under the tree. Luckily, she hadn’t heard any more random musical numbers since the Skybox and when they first landed, and Clarke still had no idea what any of it meant, but maybe a year in isolation followed by meeting loads of people at once was having a weird effect on her brain. 

They brought Jasper and the panther back to camp and Clarke desperately tried to figure out how to help him. 

If she didn’t, he would die. 

But somehow Clarke had hope. 

“Don’t listen to them,” she soothed Jasper, gently wiping his face with a cloth and brushing his hair out of the way. “You’re gonna get through this, I promise.” Monty glanced at her from the other side of the dropship and she sent a sympathetic look in his direction, even though she knew that it wouldn’t change anything. “Keep an eye on him,” she told him quickly before descending the ladder and ignoring the various complaints from the other kids about Jasper’s groaning. 

If she had to hear one more “Just die already” from someone down below then they were going to have a _serious_ problem. 

She climbed down the dropship ladder and walked outside, turning over the cloth in her hand and wondering what exactly it was that the Grounders had used to keep Jasper alive, and where the hell she could find more of it. 

A short scream rang out and then it was followed by the all-too-familiar sound of piano music and she groaned inwardly. Now wasn’t exactly the best time for another radiation or concussion-induced flash mob. If her mind was going to play tricks on her then the _least_ it could do was wait until Jasper was better. Clarke knew she’d jinxed it by being relieved at the lack of music. 

Nevertheless, she followed the source of the music anyway and discovered a small girl sitting leaning against a tree, having just woken up from what Clarke guessed was a nightmare. With her caring nature taking over she sat down next to Charlotte and watched the impromptu performance. It was a lot less dramatic than the previous musical numbers that she had witnessed in the past few days, but that didn’t make it any less entrancing to watch. 

_“When the days are cold, and the cards all fold, and the saints we see are all made of gold,”_ Charlotte sang quietly. _“When your dreams all fail and the ones we held are the worst of all, and the blood’s run stale.”_

_I wanna hide the truth_

_I wanna shelter you_

_But with the beast inside_

_There’s nowhere we can hide_

_No matter what we breed_

_We still are made of greed_

_This is my kingdom come_

_This is my kingdom come_

_When you feel my heat_

_Look into my eyes_

_It’s where my demons hide_

_It’s where my demons hide_

_Don’t get too close_

_It’s dark inside_

_It’s where my demons hide_

_It’s where my demons hide_

By the time she had finished, real tears were streaming down Charlotte’s face as she hugged her knees, and Clarke broke the new silence cautiously. “Hey. You’re Charlotte, right? I’m Clarke. It’s okay to be scared, do you wanna talk about it?” 

That seemed to be the right thing to say because Charlotte opened up slowly, “It’s… my parents. They were floated and I see it in my dreams, and I just…” 

Clarke smiled reassuringly, “I understand. My dad was floated too. So how’d you end up here?”

“Well, they were taking my parents’ things to the redistribution centre and I… I kind of lost it. They said I assaulted a guard,” she explained. 

“I can’t say I blame you,” Clarke replied slowly. She looked up at the sky and got Charlotte’s attention. “Do you see that bright star up there? That’s the Ark, orbiting above us. I think whatever happened up there… you know, the pain, maybe we can move past that now. Maybe being on the ground is our second chance.” 

Charlotte hesitated, “Do you really believe that?” 

“I’m trying to,” she smiled, putting an arm around the younger girl and looking up at the sky. 

Clarke thought it would be best to not bring up the fact that she had heard the girl break into song moments earlier, and stayed there to comfort her whilst trying to figure it out for herself. 

_Why could she hear people singing?_

_What the hell did it mean?_

~

Once again, Clarke was leaning over Jasper and trying to figure out how to save his life. She looked at the poultice on the wound and tried to discern what it was, muttering to herself as she did, although Finn seemed to think she was talking to him. “The Grounders cauterised the wound,” she frowned. “It saved his life.” 

“Saved his life so they could string him up for live bait,” he interjected. 

Clarke wiped away the excess liquid from the wound and cursed, “It’s infected, he could be septic.” She glanced at Monty hopefully, “Any progress on using the wristbands to contact the Ark? Monty?”

“That would be a firm no,” he sighed. 

“How’s he doing?” Wells crouched down next to her, worry creasing his face. 

Clarke snapped, “How does it _look_ like he’s doing, Wells?”

“Hey, I’m just trying to help,” he replied calmly. 

She realised what she was going to have to do, and without any anaesthetic of any kind, this wasn’t going to be fun for Jasper— even if it did save his life. “Right, you want to help? Hold him down.” Clarke sterilised a blade before raising it above Jasper’s chest. 

Monty watched in concern, “I’m not going to like this, am I?” 

Clarke began to cut away the infected flesh, and the moment the knife made contact and cut around his wound Jasper began to cry out in pain, and she couldn’t blame him. It wasn’t enough for just Wells, Finn _and_ Monty had to hold him down as well and Jasper’s screams brought the attention of Octavia, who climbed up the ladder quickly and tried to intervene. 

“Stop it! You’re killing him!” She cried.

Finn informed her, “She’s trying to save his life.” 

Clarke recognised Bellamy’s footsteps as he followed his sister up the ladder, taking one look at Jasper before making a decision. “She can’t.” 

“Back off,” Wells stood up as a warning, staring Bellamy down. 

She sighed, “We didn’t drag him through miles of woods just to let him die.”

“He’s a goner,” Bellamy protested. “If you can’t see that you’re deluded. He’s making people crazy.” 

Clarke took a deep breath, keeping her voice steady and calm in an attempt to not show her anger. “I’m sorry if Jasper is an _inconvenience_ to you, but this isn’t the Ark. Down here every life matters.” 

Bellamy softened slightly, “Take a look at him. He’s a lost cause.” 

She didn’t give up, instead turning to give reassurance to the younger Blake. “Octavia, I’ve spent my whole life watching my mother heal people. If I say there’s hope, there’s hope.” 

“This isn’t about hope, it’s about guts,” Bellamy cut in, more firmly than last time. “You don’t have the guts to make the hard decisions. I do. He’s been like this for three days, if he’s not better by tomorrow I’ll kill him myself. Octavia, let’s go.” 

Octavia stayed put. “I’m staying here.”

“Power-hungry self-serving jackass,” Monty spat. “He doesn’t care about anyone but himself.” He glanced up at Octavia, “No offence.” 

“Yeah,” Finn paused, “Bellamy is all that. But he also happens to be right.” 

~

An hour and a half later, Clarke still refused to give up. After figuring out that the plant used as a poultice on Jasper’s wound had antibiotic properties and that it was some sort of seaweed— according to Wells— and her, Wells and Finn set out to try and locate it to bring it back to make it into a tea for Jasper. 

So far, no more songs— not that Clarke was willing to jinx it _again._

“You know, you should really rethink the whole hating me thing,” Wells broke the silence and Clarke had to momentarily remind herself _why_ he was coming with them. _He knows what the seaweed looks like. We need him._ “It’s not just the Grounders, we’re surrounded by criminals. We need each other.”

She rolled her eyes, thankful to be leading the way which meant he couldn’t see the expression on her face. “You got my dad killed Wells, not possible.” 

“This is earth, Clarke. Anything’s possible,” he replied. 

They emerged from the forest onto a pebble beach surrounded by water on almost all sides. The river cut it off from the rest of the surrounding forest but the water wasn’t that deep which meant they could probably cross it if they wanted to without risk of large dangerous water serpent things attacking them. So far, so good. 

“Like that,” Wells pointed to the seaweed. “The thing that bit Octavia, how big was it?” 

“Big,” Finn replied. “We could rig this into some sort of net—” 

Before he had a chance to finish, Clarke was wading through the water as determined as ever and grabbing pieces of the seaweed to stuff into a bag. 

“Or we could just do that,” he sighed. 

As soon as she climbed out of the river and brushed herself off, holding a large growth of red seaweed, a large group of birds flew past them and they had to duck to avoid it. A horn sounded and Clarke looked around worriedly, “Grounders?”

“It could be a war cry?” suggested Wells. 

“Or a warning…” offered Finn.

The horn sounded again and all three of their heads turned towards the direction it had come from to see a large yellow mass moving towards them at an alarming rate. Clarke was first to react. “Run, run!” 

They set off into the woods, rushing back through the trees until they reached the place where they had spotted the automobile half-buried in the ground. Clarke climbed in first with Wells and Finn hot on her heels and some of the fog began to seep in, forcing them to try and block every possible crack to not breathe it in. 

Once that was done, they could relax, but Clarke was still on edge at the fact that this was wasting time and that they needed to get to Jasper if they wanted him to live. She tried to address this fact with the others, but Finn just shot her a look in response and added afterwards, “Us dying in a cloud of acid fog won’t help Jasper.” 

Finn pulled something out of the side and it caught Clarke’s eye, “Is that?” 

“Booze,” he confirmed, dusting it off and unscrewing the cap. 

“Careful,” she warned. “Finn, it could be—”

He cut her off, “Whiskey, I think. Better than the moonshine on farm station.” 

“Alcohol is toxic,” Wells protested. 

Finn rolled his eyes, “This is earth, _everything_ is toxic. Plus, it’s a time-honoured right of passage.”

“We’ll pass,” Wells decided, which instantly made Clarke want to have some. 

She reached for the glass and downed a large gulp, even though it made her throat burn. “Far be it for me to stand in the way of tradition.” 

Hours later, they were still sitting there, waiting for the fog to pass. Clarke was growing impatient, and the large quantity of alcohol she’d drunk wasn’t exactly helping that fact. She sighed, “Why is it that everyone thinks that me wanting Jasper to _not_ die is a bad thing? Like I’m such a downer. I can be _fun._ Yeah, you think I’m fun, right?” 

Finn smiled, “Oh yeah, among other things.” 

“You’re fun,” Wells announced. “You remember that time—”

She cut him off, “You remember that time you betrayed me and got my father executed? Yeah, I remember. Where were we? Fun. But since you brought it up— but I didn’t, because I don’t want to talk about it— what were you _thinking_?” 

“I made a mistake, Clarke,” he said quietly. 

“‘I made a mistake, Clarke’.” she parroted. “Not good enough. You know, I bet you couldn’t wait to run to daddy and tell him everything. So that you could be the perfect son he always wanted—” 

“What do you want me to say?” Wells snapped loudly. 

“I want an explanation!” She shot back. “Not knowing _why_ my _best friend_ of all people went behind my back and got my dad executed for treason is killing me! It’s driving me crazy, among other things! God, maybe the year in solitary _did_ drive me crazy. It’s not like it wouldn’t make sense, maybe that’s why all of this…” Clarke trailed off, realising she was speaking out loud and that both Finn _and_ Wells were looking at her as if she really had gone crazy. “Forget it.” 

“I don’t have an explanation,” Wells whispered. “I thought I could trust him.” 

Clarke scoffed, “Well I thought I could trust my best friend. I guess we were both wrong.” 

“I’m still your best friend—” he pleaded. 

“No, you’re not. If you were my friend, you would walk out into that fog and never come back.” 

Finn attempted to diffuse the situation, “How about you just take it easy?” He reached for the bottle in Clarke’s hand.

“I have _no_ idea how to do that,” she replied. 

Wells took the bottle from Finn and took a large gulp as Finn shifted uncomfortably between them. “So are we having fun yet?”

**Author's Note:**

> I thought radioactive would be perfect for the first song that clarke can hear! it makes sense because everyone's really excited, but there's also no way to know if earth is survivable or not, so a lot of them are really scared and are trying not to show it. 
> 
> Also, bear with me on this i have no fuckin clue what I'm doing :) this is literally an idea I had and I have not planned it AT ALL and I'm making it up as I go along, so wish me luck.
> 
> title from "Dreamer" by Aisha Badru. It doesn't entirely fit with the chapter but I love it so damn much.


End file.
